I'm looking for any personal experiences with thyroid & problems conceiving/carrying to term/problems with the baby after birth please.

In October I went to visit a nurse due to bronchitis and she recommended I see my doc sooner rather than later because I had an enlarged thyroid. Once she pointed it out I was like, yeah, wow, look at that! It's visible once pointed out. Doc did the blood test (all came back normal) and sent me for an ultrasound and then to an ENT. ENT sent me for an ultrasound guided biopsy of the most suspicious looking nodes. (5 biopsies, ugh). I just had a CT. There are nodes on both sides, but mostly one side. It's pushing my windpipe to the side so, highly likely I'll need surgery just for that reason. They all came back negative, but I've been warned that doesn't mean I don't have cancer for sure. Apparently they go in and remove the big half. If they see? suspect? something... cancer, they take the whole thyroid. If not, just the half and that gets sent to a lab for testing. If it comes back at that point cancer, I go in again to get the other half removed.

Now I'm reading all this can cause trouble conceiving. Can cause trouble carrying to term. We were going to try for #2 this summer and I'll be 40 this spring. Please - any comments would be appreciated. .

Thanks mamas.

pumpkinseeds

01-23-2013 06:53 PM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

According to my MIL, her mom had graves disease, or something thyroid related and was medicated for it.. and went on to have five kids between 1940 and early 1960.

Its possible that it could affect you, but its also possible it wont. Sorry thats not super helpful, but just my 2c.

abunchoflemons

01-23-2013 07:02 PM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

I was hyper with hypo with boy now. No issues caring to term but nothing before I got pregnant. Ob put in needs for last trimester as no need before. I had dye test with oldest that says not to take if pregnant. All were fine....

Nagshead

01-23-2013 07:07 PM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

I had four losses in 15 months. They found I was hypo after the second loss but only slightly. I was put in meds and kept at 1.0-2.0 tsh and had two more losses. (I had a healthy three year old at the time). I did acupuncture and carried my son to term (he's now 1). My acupuncturist does think my losses were thyroid related even with my levels in check. Acupuncture wasthe only thing idid differently and it worked for me

neonalee

01-24-2013 01:17 PM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

Thanks for the replies! It does seem so much like it's the luck of the draw :( I'm being nagged to get a second opinion and to go see a reproductive endo doc (I think that was what they're called). There's just so much else also going on right now that I think I'm gonna lose my mind!

blathnat

01-25-2013 05:08 AM

I developed Graves' disease when I was 19- which makes you hyper. I had the radioactive iodine treatment to kill off parts of my thyroid and ended up severely hypo-thyroid. I take meds everyday. But it's an easy, fairly cheap medicine. I get my levels checked every few months and occasionally have small adjustments to my dose. I had no trouble conceiving and a pretty smooth pregnancy :)

neonalee

01-25-2013 06:39 PM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

Thanks blathnat. I scheduled my surgery today and we're taking the whole damn thing out. Pushing my windpipe on one side and the other has already separated the artery and ... whatever used to be next to it. Bleh. Feeling terrible about having to be on meds the rest of my life, but if you're a crunchy hippie type too and it sounds like it's not big deal then I suppose I should just get over it :P

~KittyKat~

01-31-2013 09:59 PM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

I have hashimoto's (autoimmune disorder that my body attacks my thyroid) and I have had 5 early miscarriages. This is likely partially due to my thyroid levels getting very low in the first trimester before the placenta takes over. The reason it can effect fertility is because if your levels are high or low it could cause you to not ovulate as your body is trying to cope with the imbalance. As long as your medication levels are correct it generally doesn't cause much issue with ovulation. I am currently on my 2nd pregnancy and am currently 29 weeks. My first was generally uncomplicated and so far same for this one with the thyroid. I do have blood work done every 4 weeks to check my levels and make adjustments as needed but it is very manageable. If you have to have your thyroid removed it is not the end of the world. Taking levothyroxine while pregnant is completely fine. Just make sure you go to a Dr that is experienced in dealing with thyroid issues in pregnancy and knows how to handle getting your labs done.

Mommy2Zara

02-28-2013 01:14 AM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

I had trouble conceiving/carrying to term for years while on thryroid meds for hypothyroidism (synthroid generic) and even though I tested ok, it was always on the low side of normal.

I finally moved and switched to a new ob/gyn who immediately upon hearing my history and struggles, upped my dose slightly. Within 3 months I was pregnant & safely delived my baby girl in '09. Then went on to have my second daughter in 2011. I really had almost resigned myself to DS being an only child.

My new ob/gyn had been involved in a study that showed when women are TTC, it is beneficial to have slightly higher thyroid levels. Bless her <3

homebirthmom

03-15-2013 01:32 PM

Re: thyroid problems & infertility?

yes it can cause issues. and most times the dr test for thyroid but dont look at the auto immune disorders which can attack the thyroid. you need special tests for all that. i myself have been tested and it was negative. but I had it retested thru a naturopath without telling her that was my issue and she said my adrenals and thyroid needed support. sure enough, took it and felt better. went off a bit when I ran out and felt sluggish again. now that i am on it, I am super fertile it seems!!